A healthcare clinic has warned of an “epidemic” of patients left with medical problems after bodged cosmetic surgery in Turkey.

Kate Monteith-Ross runs The Clinic by La Ross, on the Medway City Estate, and has seen a spike in referrals, including one patient who suffered from infected wounds after undergoing multiple surgeries, in what she described as “monstrous” surgery.

Kate, the director and lead nurse, said the patient, a woman in her 40s from Medway, had been discharged from a practice in Turkey the day after surgery – despite having needed blood transfusion after suffering a ‘huge bleed’ – and left to make her way home on her own.

“She doesn't even know what happened in surgery,” said Kate. “All she knows is she woke up - she said she felt like she was dying.

“We tried to contact her surgeon but he did not reply. He just blanked her and blocked her. So she had no support, no after care, no wound management.

“She was very unwell, very weak. She came into this clinic and she couldn’t stand up straight, she hadn't washed, she was absolutely petrified, she was crying her eyes out, she was traumatised. She was deathly white from losing blood.

“What she had was excessive. In this country we would never do that level of surgery in the way they did it.”

She said the patient had wounds in her back from “360 degree liposuction”, and had also undergone a ‘tummy tuck’ as well as ‘breast augmentation’.

“They did an uplift with an implant,” she added. “In this country if you had an uplift they would leave you for six to 12 months, if not longer, and then an implant. They did hers all in one go and she hasn't had a very good aesthetic outcome.

“It’s absolutely brutal. What's she had is monstrous surgery. It’s monstrous to have that level of surgery. You can have that level of surgery but you have to have the level of downtime and aftercare according to that surgery.”

The patient herself, who did not wish to be identified, also issued a statement warning others of the risks.

“I ended up in a life threatening position and having to have an emergency blood transfusion which left me very weak,” she recalled.

“I was unable to communicate to anyone as no one spoke English. I felt alone and scared. Everything hurt and I couldn’t understand anything. I left with the wrong compression, sore, in pain with the wrong medication and notes in Turkish that I couldn’t understand.”

After seeking help from the NHS, she turned to The Clinic for wound management care.

She said she did not know what the outcome would have been without help from nurses at The Clinic.

She added: “I was completely in the dark with everything and didn't even know what my next steps were after surgery. I also was not informed of any of the risks prior to the surgery, so I only had what I had researched prior to going which wasn't enough.

“I also have not had any return contact from my co-ordinator in relations to all the problems I had out there and when coming back. I got nothing but ignored when I contacted them.

“I don’t know where I would have gone or where I would have turned to if it wasn’t for The Clinic. I was scared, alone and in pain and I wish I knew more before I committed.”

For Kate, the case is typical of patients she’s seen returning from Turkey in recent years, and she says the numbers are on the rise.

While The Clinic had originally been an aesthetics practice, Kate decided to increase their healthcare services. It is now licensed by the Care Quality Commission.

Since then she’s seen cases continue to steadily increase, until a spike in referrals earlier this month – with 17 patients approaching in one week.

And she believes the increases is being driven by trends on social media, and the impact of social media ‘influencers’.

“It’s really strange,” she added. “There are certain surgical groups in Turkey that target young influencers and will give them free surgery in order to promote their clinic. You'll see all these videos of them being picked up in luxury cars, sitting their drinking cocktails the night before the surgery, all out having a great time.

“They're having their surgery done with their friends, so they’re going over in packs. You'll find there's group of eight people all flying out to Turkey in a big group and having surgery done together.

“At one point surgery was a private thing, now it's something to be proud of. The issue I have is the ethics behind it. They don't need it.

“They’re 30-years-old and having face-lifts. On what planet does a 30-year-old need a face-lift? It's ridiculous. Or a 19-20 year old girl having weight loss surgery. It's like what the hell? When does it stop?”

“Just because something's available doesn't mean you should be running over and getting it. We got a call from someone asking for advice - 11 of her friends all flew out to Turkey to get gastric band surgery together, just because they wanted to lose some weight, so they're having major surgery to their gastrointestinal system, to hack off half the stomach just because they want to lose a few pounds. Back in my day it was weight watchers.”

And she added: “It’s being presented on social media as this glamorous experience, but that's not the reality. I’m sure there are people who have exceptional experience in Turkey.

“This isn't saying every Turkish surgery is bad – there are going to be some exceptional surgeons, but unfortunately people need to be a bit more considered before they book something.”